The first online journalist ever embedded with the U.S. military returned safely to Portland this week from Afghanistan.

kgw

Scott Kesterson spent a year embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, writing blogs for kgw.com.

A veteran of the National Guard himself, Scott Kesterson returned with nearly 100 Oregon National Guard soldiers who had been working with and training Afghan Nationals to aid them in their fight against the Taliban.

Kesterson worked side by side with U.S. forces in Afghanistan for the past year, the only journalist to be embedded full time with the troops.

He wrote a regular Afghanistan War Blog for kgw.com on location from the front lines. With his laptop and a video camera, he brought the far away war close to home, and found himself constantly in harm's way. His reports were interrupted for weeks at a time when the group he was embedded with moved to forward positions.

More: How Kesterson became embedded reporter

At times, Kesterson's reports described the unglamorous work of training the locals to stand up to the Taliban and protect themselves.

At other times, he captured the "Forgotten War" in words and on video in a way that put his audience with him on the front lines of the War on Terror.

His most watched reports documented a firefight, and a Taliban ambush.

Video: Ambush by Taliban

Video: Firefight at Dawn (warning: strong language)

Kesterson found safety behind the lens, focusing in the moment on his role as a reporter and blocking out the danger, like the time he filmed a soldier defusing an IED.

"I have to say, in reflection, this was one of the crazier things we did," says Kesterson. "You know, when you're digging up a mine before you and you're filming, you dont think much about it at the time because you dont, you're there to tell the story."

Kesterson's reports were followed closely by Oregon Guard families back in Oregon, and Kesterson says he's been told his blog also had readers at the Pentagon.

While Kesterson says his role as a journalist helped him block out the danger, the same wasn't true for readers of his blog.

"For the past year, I have worried about Scott's safety and ended every email exchange with the words: Be safe," said KGW Executive News Director Rod Gramer, who sponsored the freelance journalist. "This week, Scott walked back into the station...I breathed a sigh of relief just to see him."

Kesterson was interviewed by KGW Reporter Pat Dooris about his experiences in Afghanistan, and that story was scheduled to air Friday, May 18th at 11 p.m. on Northwest NewsChannel 8.

Kesterson is producing a documentary on the "Forgotten War" and is also working on a book about his experiences.

MORE:

Read Kesterson's Afghanistan War Blog